Staining is a living nightmare. Experimentation is the only key to some sort of success. The timber I used is jellutong scientific name Dyera costulata. This timber is great for carving and not much else. The wood is porous and blotching occurs, not as much as pine but still enough to ruin your day. On one side I applied a wash coat of 1lb (0.45 kg) ruby shellac and gave it a coat using Cabots gel stain. I later gave it a couple of coats of ruby shellac. The results were to my eye awful. The flip side, I also applied a wash coat of ruby shellac and then a coat of a spirit based stain rosewood mahogany. This colour isn’t produced anymore, and I bought the last of the lot. I applied several coats of ruby shellac and the results are impressive. It then dawned on me that books, magazines, and videos can sing you many songs of this and that, but the only song you need to know is to experiment on some scrap before you do anything. What one method works on one timber, does not work for all timbers.
Australia Amazon
Minwax 618514444 Water-Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, Quart https://amzn.to/45kTn0X
Everbuild Quick Drying Wood Stain, Dark Oak, 250 ml https://amzn.to/3pZYZOc
Liberon WDPW250 250ml Palette Wood Dye – Walnut [DIY Tools] https://amzn.to/3OuyYRs
Orange Shellac Flakes Waxy TN Grade – French Polish, 100g https://amzn.to/3Mn8qyE
USA Amazon De-Waxed Super Blonde Shellac Flakes 1 lb (0.45 kg). (16 oz.) https://amzn.to/3BIodTO
Carnauba Wax https://amzn.to/3BIoNB5
General Finishes Water Based Wood Stain, 1 Quart, Brown Mahogany https://amzn.to/3Iqp7Z2
General Finishes Water Based Dye, 1 Pint, Green https://amzn.to/3ItX0Ii
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Journeyman's Journal 
My first few pieces were made of pine and poplar. I knew absolutely nothing about woodworking at the time and was making the simple Paul Seller’s tote he had on YouTube the required housing dados. After making three of them I decided to finish them with a danish oil that has some sort of teak colored stain in them. I about crapped in my pants and almost gave up woodworking then and there as I finished them. They looked horrible. Of course I now know about blotching. Also at that time, had I known about shellac that’s what I would have used and never have had an issue to begin with.
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All our stories are the same, we all faced what you faced and without failures you would learn nothing at all.
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Lol. That is certainly true. For example, I had heard about unsupported gain fibers and not planing into them. Didn’t really understand that until I made a few sets of my first dovetails and then planed them flush going the wrong direction. Predicably, the unsupported fibers broke and made me upset because it didn’t look good. That lesson has stuck with me and lots of others along that way. Now when watching Paul Sellers videos and he gives a warning about something, I smile becuase for the most part, I made the mistake even though I had heard it before but didn’t fully understand what it meant.
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